Science Daily Environmental Policies

Science Daily is a free online news source. It features news and articles on a variety of topics including: computer science, nanotechnology, medicine, psychology, biology, climate, space, physics, mathematics, chemistry, archeology, paleontology, and others.
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Most new farmland in tropics comes from slashing forests, research shows Sat, 04 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EDT A new study shows that more than 80 percent of the new farmland created in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came from felling forests, which sends carbon into the atmosphere and drives global warming. But the research team also noted that big agribusiness has largely replaced small farmers in doing most of the tree cutting in Brazil and Indonesia, which may make it easier to rein in the trend.

Science's policy clout diminished, but oil risk looms large, study finds Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EDT More people are likely to believe scientific studies claiming that oil drilling is riskier, not safer, than was previously thought, according to a new study of attitudes in California. What's more the findings show that scientists' efforts to influence public opinion have a limited effect.

Decrease in global carbon dioxide emissions; CO2 from China, India on the rise Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EDT Global carbon dioxide emissions decreased in 2009, the first decrease recorded this decade. However, in China and India the emissions increased by 9 and 6 percent.

Snail mail beats phones to help feds sustain ample fish stocks in US coastal waters Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EDT Snail mail might be the answer to help federal officials protect US coastal waters from overfishing. Anglers say the feds currently rely on questionable data from a home phone survey to calculate recreational fishing volume and decide which locales to place off limits so stocks can rebuild. A new study found a snail mail survey netted a higher response rate and more complete data, says a statistician.

Serengeti highway would disrupt world's greatest migration, conservationists warn Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:00:00 EDT The Wildlife Conservation Society and the Zoological Society of London are requesting that the Government of Tanzania reconsider the proposed construction of a commercial road through the world's best known wildlife sanctuary -- Serengeti National Park -- and recommend that alternative routes be used that can meet the transportation needs of the region without disrupting the greatest remaining migration of large land animals in the world.

New analysis weighs lost trade, costs to control invasive species against economic damages Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:00:00 EDT Bugs, plants, animals and viruses travel the globe, invading new territory and wreaking havoc as they upset the balance of nature, destroy agriculture and damage human health. Biological alien invaders are often introduced via international trade, forcing policymakers to regulate the movement of goods to stop them. Economists now examine which trade measures make good economic sense -- from restrictions to full protection.

Limiting ocean acidification under global change Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:00:00 EDT Emissions of carbon dioxide are causing ocean acidification as well as global warming. Scientists have previously used computer simulations to quantify how curbing of carbon dioxide emissions would mitigate climate impacts. New computer simulations have now examined the likely effects of mitigation scenarios on ocean acidification trends. They show that both the peak year of emissions and post-peak reduction rates influence how much ocean acidity increases by 2100.